Proposed MLB salary cap and floor might be exactly what the Cardinals need

Let's be honest: The debate around whether or not Major League Baseball needs to incorporate a salary cap and/or floor is far more complicated and nuanced than any of us care to admit. It is difficult to flatly say it would "fix" the sport, but I also don't think it's fair to say it wouldn't be a step in the right direction.

While the overall economics of the game and how much parity would result from it can be hotly debated, I do think if we hone in on the St. Louis Cardinals specifically, the early suggested numbers for an MLB salary cap and floor may actually benefit the Cardinals more than just about any club in the sport.

Why? Well, because money is a tool. The smartest organizations in the game make the most of the cash they have, while the foolish ones can spend all of the money they want, but they remain in their cycles of incompetence. Where baseball is suffering right now is that there are extremely smart teams that have access to far more capital than other organizations, and if you can cap how much they are able to spend, it actually shrinks the gap for smart, middle-to-largish-market teams, just like the Cardinals.

Early estimates for an MLB salary cap and floor may actually benefit the Cardinals more than any other team

Jon Heyman shared recently that early estimates for a proposed MLB salary cap would be around $260m-$280m, while the proposed floor would be somewhere between $140m-$160m.

If you look at the worst teams in baseball, money actually has very little to do with why they struggle to compete. Yes, more cash is never a bad thing for a team like the Pittsburgh Pirates or Miami Marlins, but organizations like the Los Angeles Angels and Colorado Rockies have proven that just because you infuse a poorly run team with more money doesn't mean it will suddenly compete at a high level.

Teams like the Milwaukee Brewers, Tampa Bay Rays, and Cleveland Guardians have the most to gain from a salary floor. While forcing them to spend more money on big league payroll could lead to less spending on player development, which has made them so great, if they do continue to invest in those areas as well, their front offices would have more budget to go after upgrades for their Major League rosters.

But, because I'm not so sure their ownership groups would consistently invest in both player development and a newly raised payroll, I do think there could be unintended consequences for those clubs. But when you look at the Cardinals, they may actually stand to gain the most without being "hurt" by those unforeseen ramifications.

Chaim Bloom and ownership have repeatedly stated that once they get this foundation in order, the plan is to reinvest in the big league roster to maximize the team's rebuild and contend with the best in the league. In the early 2020s, that looked like an Opening Day payroll that sat between $175m-$190m, a substantial amount more than the proposed salary floor but far behind the Yankees, Dodgers, and Mets, who exceeded $300 million, and the Blue Jays and Phillies that exceeded the proposed $280 million cap.

But if the Dodgers, Yankees, Mets, Blue Jays, Phillies, and any other high rollers are forced to cap out at $280 million, the competitive advantage those clubs have financially shrinks. It definitely does not disappear, but it does become less of an advantage than it is right now, and that would level the playing field for St. Louis far more than most other clubs.

Sure, there would be years where the Brewers, Guardians, Rays, and others are spending more money and have those young, dynamic teams that make them even more of a threat than they are now, but I'm not sure they could afford to sustain that for long periods. The Cardinals, on the other hand, should be able to outspend those teams, still afford to invest deeply in player development, and also not see as wide a gap between them and the "big boys" when it comes to spending.

The Dodgers are an incredible organization because of how smart and well-run they are. The money just gives them an unfair competitive advantage because of how well they operate. The Mets are trending that way as an organization, but we saw not that long ago the Mets spent so much money and lost so many games. Those big market teams will always be among the favorites if they are well-run, but this proposed salary cap and floor should prevent them from being the overwhelming favorites year in and year out. And that's what fans are most sick of at this point. It's fine that big markets consistently compete; the problem is when they are able to lap the field competitively.